In 1947, brothers Oscar and Mason Alwan started Alwans Market in South Peoria. At one time, there were four like-named grocery stores. But in 1957, the main business — by then called Alwan Brothers — moved to Peoria Heights, taking over a previous grocery store near the current location, 703 E. War Memorial Drive. Five years later, a new store was built there; in 2006, the current structure went up. By then, the business had adopted the new name, Alwan & Sons Meat Co., now owned by a third generation: brothers Pat Alwan and Joe Alwan Jr., along with cousin Brian Alwan.

Along the way, the business moved away from groceries to focus on meat. In the late ‘50s, to underscore that difference, the shop brought aboard a key partner: a fiberglass Angus bull. About 4 feet tall and 9 feet from nose to tail, it’s about the size of the real thing.

The original bull remains out front of the store. But in 2006, after the new construction, the Alwan trio decided to bring in another bull, to catch motorists’ eyes. That bull stands on an elevated stage on the side of the building facing War Memorial Drive.

The bulls are about the same size. But the cost difference is remarkable. The first was bought for $20 at an auction. The second cost $8,000.

“It’s crazy,” Brian Alwan says with a laugh. “But there are only like two places in the country where you can get them. You can get a raggedy one for cheap, but it wouldn’t be nearly as nice as the one we got.”